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Com 316: Fundamentals of Broadcasting Development of Television |
Dr. Janet McMullen Fall 2001 MWF 10:00
Updated: 09/30/01
BEGINNINGS:
In 1939, David Sarnoff announced that television was no longer just around the corner, it was here.....He was right.
RCA introduced it at the World's Fair in 1939.
Television had been developing for some time:
1923: Charles Jenkins created a clumsy camera and shot a picture of Warren G. Harding which was picked up 130 miles away on a tiny screen.
1927: AT&T Broadcast a picture from Washington, D.C. to Manhattan.
But Philo T. Farnsworth had been working on it for years, as had Vladimir Zworkin who fled Russia in 1919. Zworkin went to work for Westinghouse and developed the cathode ray tube. He later went to work for RCA. He and Farnsworth were to become bitter competitors, embroiled in a Sarnoff-originated patent suit.
Zworkin was the inventor of the cathode ray tube and the kinescope.
Farnsworth invented the image dissector and the vital glass vacuum tube seal..........
Battles did not just revolve around the mechanical vs. the electronic system. Other issues:1. STANDARDIZATION: How would the system of choice be defined, refined, and reproduced and manufactured?
2. ACCEPTANCE: How would broadcasters accept the system? They saw it (and justifiably so) as a threat to radio, and took an "if it ain't broke...." approach.
1941: RCA broadcast the first commercial program: A report on time and temperature and weather. Then came:
The public was interested, and Sarnoff was determined to make TV available to them. However, he still had to sell the FCC and other broadcasters. In an attempt to persuade them, he offered to make and distribute 25,000 sets and ask the public what they thought. The FCC said "no" and threw NBC tv off the air.
The industry fought back, and chairman Fly reversed himself. But it was too late for television in that decade. World War II was under way and all research and development money was sent to the war effort. TV development was stopped, although Sarnoff kept his team working on it at RCA.
After the war, the conflict resumed. In 1945, 9 commercial stations were on the air. 7500 receivers were operating in New York City, Schenectady and Chicago.
RCA introduced the IMAGE ORTHICON camera which required much less illumination. (It also meant no more thick make up, purple lipstick and excessive perspiration!)
The FCC approved distribution standards, and a dozen factories retooled to make television sets.
RCA had several powerful enemies. CBS's Bill Paley and Zenith's Commander McDonald were chief among them. These two wanted to hold up further standardization because they had developed a color system with a brilliant picture. They hadn't expected things would move so quickly after the war....
According to Eric Barnouw in Tube of Plenty (p. 100).....
"RCA, was scornful of the CBS color method. In six months Sarnoff promised the FCC, RCA engineers would demonstrate an electronic color system 'compatible' with existing black and white sets. Asked how he knew they would have it ready, Sarnoff answered: "I told them to.""
"In the summer of 1946, RCA got its black and white sets on the market. That fall it demonstrated an electronic color system--crude and unstable but 'compatible.' In March 1947 the FCC shunted the CBS system aside. It postponed final color decisions, but reaffirmed a go-ahead under existing black-and-white standards. The RCA forces were exuberant. CBS, on the other hand and suffered a major defeat.
"In October of that year FCC chairman Charles Denny, who has presided over these pro-RCA decisions, resigned from the FCC to become NBC vice president and general counsel."
In 1950, CBS was given permission to field test the color wheel system again, but by then too many people had black and white sets, the Korean War was beginning, and the political situation with the FCC was not good.
In 1953, RCA had developed a compatible electronic scanning system which gained NTSC approval.
The American public wanted television as soon as the war was over. They did NOT want to invest in two different types of sets, and that was a big factor in the system we have today. The result was that a possibly better system was actually rejected in favor or a quick and convenient alternative.....
TWO KEY DEVELOPMENTS in television technology occurred shortly after the war which made the growth of television possible:
By 1948, over 100 stations were on the air, and interference was once again a big problem. (Remember the problems in early radio?) The FCC responded by calling a FREEZE on all new licenses.
Facts on the FREEZE:
Dates: Sept. 29, 1948 to April 14, 1952
Expected to last only 6 months but lasted four years!
Reasons for it:
Set growth during the freeze: Number of sets in homes grew from 1/4 million to 7 million!
Results: SIXTH REPORT AND ORDER!
Success: Yes and no.
MIXED MARKETS were a serious problem. UHF and VHF signals are not equal technologically, and the inequities were serious, resulting in lower viewership for the U's.
Tuning problems were helped when in 1964, an ALL CHANNEL LAW was passed declaring all new sets had to be equipped with UHF tuners, and 1970. when click-stop tuners were first available.
In the beginning, there were four networks:
NBC, CBS, ABC, and DUMONT.
Dumont was severely under capitalized and did not have national hookups. By 1955 it was out of business, although it had introduced Jackie Gleason, the Honeymooners, Bishop Sheen and others to the screen.
Know what a KINESCOPE is.
1956: AMPEX developed video tape.
Know why production moved to Hollywood:
3 camera technique on film
PAT WEAVER: (Sylvester "Pat" Weaver)
(above were called magazine format shows)
PARAMOUNT MERGER WITH ABC!
ABC had been the third choice with advertisers.
In 1953, the Justice Department ordered the break-up of the big Hollywood studios on monopolistic grounds. The studios had to divest of their theatre companies.
Paramount Theatres was one of those "spun off" companies.
Paramount Studios merged with ABC to infuse the network with much-needed capital.
ABC developed a link with Hollywood that enabled the development of some of its trend-setting programs, specifically the Paramount Westerns, Cheyenne, Bronco and Sugarfoot.
DISNEY also had a BIG role in the success of ABC. Disneyland, the program helped generate interest in Disneyland, the theme park. Interesting that The Wonderful World of Disney is back on ABC as of the 1997 fall season.....
TELEVISION's IMPACT ON RADIO:
TALENT RAIDS. This was a very important Paley strategy. He lured NBC radio talent to the CBS television network by figuring out a tax break for them. It works and it worked big!
Radio stations refused to renew network contracts as audiences diminished. More money could be made with the new music formats.
In 1948, radio earned more money than it had ever earned before. Ironically, it was that money which was used in the development of television -- the cause of radio's demise.
By 1958, radio network income had dropped to zero.
ETHICAL PROBLEMS OF THE FIFTIES:
$64,000 Question premiered in 1955. Extremely popular. Dozens of imitations followed. When advertisers (who "owned" the program) put pressure on producers to keep a popular contestant on the air, the answers were given in advance and the show was "rigged." While this practice was used on several programs, including $64,000 Question, the most famous incident occurred with Charles Van Doren on Twenty-One.
Congress held hearings and an investigation in 1958. After one show, Dotto, went off the air suddenly, the rumors of the fix spread. 20 quiz shows went off the air in 20 days.
Confirmation of the fraud occurred in 1959. Several, including Van Doren, who testified before a Congressional Committee, were indicted but were given suspended sentences.
(FIVE POINTS extra credit for watching the movie, QUIZ SHOW, writing a three to five page review of the movie and how it helped your understanding of this issue.)
2. PAYOLA: Disc Jockies were found to have taken money to play certain records.
(See your text for more details)
3. BLACKLISTING:
Read about this very carefully in your text.
These groups published the lists. They also published guidelines on how to keep you name OFF a list. People all over the country, not just in the media, were terrified. INDUSTRY organizations failed to come to the aid of their members. For this reason, the Hollywood industry is very concerned about free speech issues. They have been severely burned in the past, failed by some of their peers, and they don't want to risk that again.
JOHN HENRY FAULK is a noted personality in this era.
SENATOR JOSEPH MCCARTHY fanned the flames of the Red Scare and went after people himself. He held hearings in which people had to defend themselves against charges about their loyalty. He asked for loyalty oaths.
Video in class will help clarify that role.
KNOW:
During that program
When television covered the 36-day hearings of his sub-committee, the Army-McCarthy Hearings, people saw him for the man he was...
4. FCC PAY-OFFS: Commissioners Richard Mack and John Doerfer were convicted of accepting bribes.
EARLY TELEVISION PROGRAMMING:
Know the following information:
1949: The first EMMY AWARDS: named after the IMAGE ORTHICON TUBE, which was nicknamed IMMY.
VARIETY FORMAT:
1948: Texaco Star Theatre:
1948: Toast of the Town: with host, Broadway columnist, Ed Sullivan. The program was later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show and it ran for nearly two decades. The first program had Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.
DRAMA:
Drama was a big part of early programming. Proximity to New York theatre and actors helped. These LIVE dramas frequently had big stars, but also offered roles to young, inexperienced actors who would go on to become big names in television and films.
Because of these dramas, the early 1950s is called the GOLDEN AGE of Television.
Key programs:
COMEDY:
CRIME:
WESTERNS:
The early ones were mostly for children and starred famous B Movie western stars: Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hop a Long Cassidy, and of course, The Lone Ranger.
In 1955, the adult western was introduced in response to the theatrical success of adult western movies, High Noon and Shane. Gunsmoke began a major trend. Cheyenne, Bronco, Wagon Train, all followed. Later in the 60's Bonanza (in color) and The Virginian (90 min.) were also extremely popular.
CHILDREN's PROGRAMMING:
Howdy Doody with Buffalo Bob Smith and Clarabell (who was Bob Keeshan, later Captain Kangaroo!).
QUIZ SHOWs:
Note: These were not dependent upon knowledge!
Other IMPORTANT PROGRAMMING NOTES:
The results were not learned until the following day because the election was so close!
Other important people in programming:
If you enjoyed this unit, you might want to consider taking TV Appreciation the next time it is offered. You will have numerous opportunities to see the programs we've touched upon in that class!
Resources:
Copyright, 2001
Dr. Janet McMullen